Help him control his aggression 2026

Aggression is normal at this age because children have not yet learned to control their impulses. Is it possible to control it?

When they turn one year old, the physical autonomy they achieve when they learn to walk and use their body encourages them to use strength to satisfy their desires. Certain doses of aggressiveness are normal at this age, children are still guided by their instincts, they are egocentric and have a hard time taking others into account, which is why they react aggressively when they feel frustrated.

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Many parents don't know what to do, how to stop them from biting or hitting other children? Learning to deal with aggressive behavior in children requires a lot of patience, time and perseverance, but it is important to help them overcome this stage.

These are some of the situations in which childhood aggression manifests itself.

Hit for fun

'When we hold him in our arms, sometimes he smacks us or pulls our hair. It doesn't seem like he acts with bad intentions, but rather for fun, because he almost always laughs while doing it.'

This behavior should not be given too much importance, since it is a very young child, but that does not mean that it should be tolerated. We have to get serious and tell him that he doesn't hit him and immediately withdraw our attention and momentarily suspend communication with him.

Hits aggressively

'When my son gets angry because I don't consent to something, he throws a tantrum and hits the floor or the furniture.'

bite

'Our son started biting when his first teeth came in. He does it especially when he gets angry, but other times he does it for good. We are afraid that he will bite his classmates when the time comes to take him to nursery school.'

From the first year of life until approximately three years old, children have to learn to self-regulate. When they bite, scratch or fight, they test their ability to control their impulses in certain situations. They are not born knowing how to control their emotions and desires. They learn to control them as they interact with adults and other children, in social situations and spaces such as preschool. The best way to help them is to lead by example. We must remain calm and not respond to their aggressiveness with our own. It is important to help them overcome this stage so that they know how to modulate their impulses and frustrations in later years.

Attacks the little friends

'When our son is with other children his age we have to be very careful because at the slightest setback he hits or even scratches. Should we be worried?'

Shall we spank him?

'Our daughter hits us when she doesn't get her way. We scold him and hit him on the diaper, although there are those who advise us to give him a couple of good spanks to make him stop that habit.'

Not only should you not spank him, but you should also not tap his diaper. Although it may seem like a small thing, children are great imitators and those taps are enough for the little one to believe that it is a valid way to communicate.

Bad baby?

'When we scold our one-year-old son, he slaps himself and says 'bad baby.' We have never hit him, we limit ourselves to scolding him and telling him that he is bad when he behaves badly.'

If a child slaps himself, we can hug him and tell him not to hit himself, because he is not bad, but good, and we love him very much. If we tell him that he is 'bad' he will take it literally and adopt self-harming behaviors.

Video: How to help them control aggression